GE redesigns Santa's sleigh

‘In the spirit of the holiday season, we thought it would be fun to imagine what our scientists and engineers could do if we put our technology achievements together to design and build a concept ‘Sleigh of the Future’ for Santa Claus,’ said Mark Little, senior vice president and director of GE Global Research.

Of the dozens of major technical achievements they made in 2009, GE technologists incorporated 10 into their ‘Sleigh of the Future’ design.

The first of these is a frame for the sleigh made from GE’s specialised carbon-fibre-composite materials, designed to be lighter and stronger to increase travel time from house to house. This is complemented by durable blades made from ceramic-matrix composites (CMCs), instead of metal, to enable more efficient flight and cut down on rooftop ‘clatter’.

Icephobic coatings sprayed on the exterior of the sleigh prevent ice buildup while travelling through new fallen snow and red self-powered OLED lighting in the front of the sleigh supplements Rudolph’s red nose and increases Santa’s visibility on a foggy Christmas Eve.